Paul Nightingale
@paulnightingale.bsky.social
Professor of Strategy at SPRU - the Science Policy Research Unit Teaches SPRU 1.01 Research Policy. HSP. Views mine, not my employer. Politics unfashionable since 1654
UN rights chief says Iran executed at least 56 people since March reut.rs/4wIcXSn
UN rights chief says Iran executed at least 56 people since March
At least 56 people have been executed in Iran on national security-related charges since March 19, including 27 in cases linked to protests at the start of the year, the U.N. human rights chief said on Wednesday.
reut.rs
It isn't noted often how neo-liberal most European science policy (including the UK) is and how much it buys into the "basic research and then magic happens" model. So this is a good corrective. Especially if the policy recognises the importance of process knowledge in industrial (like Ireland).
Nature@nature.com · yesterdaySustaining Europe's strong position in the life-sciences sector will require investment and education in bioengineering go.nature.com/4hMuCU3
I enormously enjoyed recording this PPF episode on Major Douglas’s Social Credit - a crank economic theory of the interwar period that caused immense frustration to mainstream intellectuals (including Keynes, Cole, Hobson and Gaitskell) but whose followers ended up taking power in Western Canada.
Past Present Future Podcast@ppfideas.bsky.social · 2d agoBONUS EPISODE OUT NOW! In this PPF+ bonus David talks to political historian @dmk1793.bsky.social about an idea of the 1920s & 30s: social credit, meant to usher in an age of abundance & freedom, producing conspiracy theories & crypto-fascism instead. Join PPF+ now: www.ppfideas.com/join-ppf-plus
Wow terrific website that outlines the brands that have undergone enshittification (quality erosion in order to maximize profits) and those that have embraced quality This is a super helpful website ledger.worseonpurpose.com
ledger.worseonpurpose.com
Thrilled to finally share the great news that Sharon Weinberger is joining the @thebulletin.org as our next Editor-in-Chief! thebulletin.org/2026/08/the-...
The Bulletin welcomes Sharon Weinberger as editor-in-chief
The Bulletin’s new editor-in-chief, Sharon Weinberger, has dedicated her career to covering the intersection of science, technology, and national security and will guide the Bulletin’s editorial effor...
thebulletin.org
I've been digging in to the Packalen and Bhattacharya paper on "edge science". They seem to have run the analysis on 1 million articles but the dataset has 6.2 million. There may be a good reason for this, but I can't find it in the paper, so have asked on PubPeer. pubpeer.com/publications...
PubPeer - NIH funding and the pursuit of edge science
There are comments on PubPeer for publication: NIH funding and the pursuit of edge science (2020)
pubpeer.com
Huge story for the UK - FT scoop here on AstraZeneca in talks to combine with US rival Bristol Myers Squibb. AZN is the second biggest listed UK company and would be the bigger party in a deal. But could it redomicile to the US as part of a deal? www.ft.com/content/e902...
AstraZeneca holds talks with Bristol Myers Squibb over $400bn tie-up
Deal would create world’s fourth-largest drugmaker by market value
ft.com
Smart take from @progmil.bsky.social "What Jacobsen offers ...is just play-acting. It’s as if someone suddenly woke up to the fact that biological organisms can be deadly and believes that no one else has thought what to do about it. outbreaks." almauroni.substack.com/p/no-one-mak...
No One Makes Good Policy Based on Worst Case Scenarios
It's way past time to stop admiring the advice of doom-sayers
almauroni.substack.com
Don’t pretend jokes can’t lead to political violence ft.trib.al/zTOuZvv
Don’t pretend jokes can’t lead to political violence
The taboo around political violence is fraying — but restricting speech is not the answer
ft.trib.al
I no longer use X/Twitter, so here I am to support @stianwestlake.bsky.social who has written well on @ukri.org 's strategy I believe his argument is correct: a science funder must fund both curiosity driven and applied research, and that will demand difficult choices 🧵 x.com/stianwestlak...
This is good on China and support for manufacturing exports. It gets that what is going on in China is strategic. But the "in a ideal world this mecantalism would stop" conclusion suggests a gap with China. First, China is expanding domestic demand. ... www.ft.com/content/8719...
China is smarter about subsidies than everybody else
Beijing is stealing a march on its competitors by targeting strategic sectors
ft.com
I know, I know, I'm yet another chemist saying chemistry is cool. But this **is** amazing!
David Roberts@volts.wtf · 5d agoSilicon can hold 10X the lithium ions that graphite can, but it swells & shrinks when it does so, which has been hell on durability in the past. The unlock here is to create a kind of carbon scaffolding to embed the silicon atoms in, which gives them room to swell & shrink in peace.
Today on Volts: in lithium-ion batteries, the cathode has been evolving for 30 years, but the anode has remained stubbornly graphite. Now silicon anodes, which promise 5X the energy density & charging speeds, are finally reaching commercial viability. I talk with a silicon-anode pioneer.
Silicon anodes for batteries unlock greater energy density and faster charging times
A conversation with Rick Costantino of Group14.
volts.wtf
Can anyone recommend a history of the Baltic states? #history #historians
Nice thread on why Government spending money on things markets are sceptical about because of "AI arms race" nonsense may not be a good thing. What is annoying to me about this is we do it again and again and again... never learning.
Garvan Walshe@garvanwalshe.org · 5d agoThis is only €10 billion, thankfully, but it shows why politics is a poor way to allocate large financial resources. And it’s interesting because here is an area where markets aren’t doing a particularly good job either. 🧵
Let’s be clear here, when scientists say mistakes were made at the start of the pandemic, we DO NOT mean that we did too much. We mean not socially distancing quickly enough, not making tests widely available, and not acknowledging COVID is airborne and distributing N95 masks to everyone.
Super interesting. www.ft.com/content/6a35... We’ve moved from income world to wealth world
We’ve moved from income world to wealth world
Passive wealth gains increasingly matter more than earnings for one’s standing in society
ft.com
Wondering how much the current Labour Party’s fetishising of jobs in manufacturing is rooted in sentimental guilt at their/ their parents having got on. Burnham is an Eng Lit grad! None of these people went down t’pit (they might be more enthusiastic about education as a way out if they had done).
Nyika@puzzledbyadream.bsky.social · last wk.Not keen on this. My parents were not overly enthusiastic initially about me going to university. If this had been in place, I would have been STRONGLY discouraged from going to university. And university was the making of me. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Trump’s systematic assault on science “By attempting to politicise scientific research today, the current administration risks hampering US leadership in the technologies of tomorrow.” giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
Trump’s systematic assault on science
The government is politicising funding for basic research
giftarticle.ft.com
There is simply no ambiguity in what Elon Musk is arguing and endorsing here.
🚨 'Democratic resilience and social cohesion should be understood as matters of national security.' 📝 Read the full report from our recent event exploring new approaches to countering extremism and protecting the democratic order. 👇 🔗 https://ow.ly/QUeP50Zs2X7
UK political party choices. For Labour - "how we reindustrialise every part of Britain" means either fail or change people's definition of reindustrialise, because it won't look anything like the factories of old (and will look much like it does now) www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
It’s not just a No 10 in the north, it’s an engine for growth throughout the whole UK | Andy Burnham
Power has been too centralised in Britain and tackling that is key to progress and prosperity. This initiative is ambitious: we’re remaking the state, says UK prime minister Andy Burnham
theguardian.com
Canadian woman who was NATO intern arrested in Belgium on spying charge reut.rs/4bbrjlq
Canadian woman who was NATO intern arrested in Belgium on spying charge
A Canadian woman of Chinese origin who was an intern at a NATO site in Belgium has been arrested on spying charges, the Belgium prosecutor said on Saturday.
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This is a very significant articulation of new thinking in US science policy. It is a serious document backed by serious research, reflecting not just the Administration's thinking but a much wider set of views. It should be widely read.
Paul Nightingale@paulnightingale.bsky.social · 2w agoNew US science policy... www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/u...
This would be the end of my US federal funding if of the anyone in thrall to the current powers-that-be knew that Nature is not a homeopathic aromatherapy magazine. Below, the thread referenced. h/t @thomasbackhaus.eu
Carl T. Bergstrom@carlbergstrom.com · 2w ago1. The new Trump / Kratsios plan for US science appears explicitly designed to destroy US universities. Diverting money to tech donors is probably just a bonus. Gift link.
